Monday, August 2, 2010

Sunday Dinner

I love Sunday dinner! It is a chance for my family to get together, eat, and have fun. Yesterday we spent a lot of time in the pool since we are in the middle of a crazy Texas heat wave!


We decided to heat up the charcoal grill and have hot dogs with chicken sausage. My Mom made her delicious home made potato salad. Since peaches have been so good this year, I decided to make a home made peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream.


Can anyone believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner??? I will take the cooler weather, but not ready to go out Christmas shopping quite yet.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Walgreens Trip

Found some good deals on Febreze candles this week!


Lolly Pops - $1.69
Febreze Reed Difussor - $7.86 (used $5 off coupon)
Colgate Max $2.99 (used .75 off coupon)
Oral B Advantage Toothbrush - $2.99 (used $2 off coupon)
Febreze Soy Candle - $7.86 (used $5 off coupon)
Used a $3 Register Reward
Paid $8.09 - got $5 Register Rewards back!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Menu Plan

I was a day off for next weeks menu planning...so here it goes.

Friday - homemade pizza w/ salad
Saturday - my son wants to grill so we will do chicken, hot dogs, and potatoes in foil
Sunday - ? Sunday dinner
Monday - Crock pot corned beef with carrots
Tuesday - Saucy BBQ pork with potatoes
Wednesday - Pesto rolled chicken breast with rice and salad
Thursday - Turkey burgers with salad and fries

Monday, July 5, 2010

Happy 4th of July

We had a great 4th and hope everyone else did as well! After a few days of much needed rain, we had a dry 4th. As with any party...this 4th party had a ton of food. One of our favorites is beer can chicken. This is hands down the best chicken ever. All you do is put a half full beer can under the fryer chicken, and add all purpose salt on the outside for a nice crisp! DELICIOUS!
I made an onion dip which was a totally new recipe for me! I thought it came out great. I didn't get a shot of it until after the lid came off and the guys had already dunked into it!

(Recipe)
2 large yellow onions (or Vidalia)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
4 ounces cream cheese - room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Chop up onions. Heat the pan with the oil and butter. Add onions, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Saute until the onions are nice and brown and caramelized of course. Add the balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard. Leave on heat for about 10 more minutes. Allow onions to cool completely. In your serving bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo. Keep stirring until there are no more lumps! Combined the cool onions and cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until your are ready to serve. I served this with potato chips and tortilla chips - it was VERY GOOD!

I have grown to love cooking for a group of people...especially those who never thought I had it in me :)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

WELCOME!

I finally decided to jump on the blogging band wagon. I am excited to share my recipes, house projects, outdoor projects, garden (what's left of it after this Texas heat), bargain shopping, and my stay home home mom stories!
Why "The Unexpected Housewife"? Grab a glass of wine -
I married my husband in September of 2006 after being engaged for a little over 6 months. We had an awesome wedding on Hilton Head Island. After the wedding married life began. My husband was in the Navy and it was time for me to leave my wonderful job, and the motherland...Texas. I put what I could in 3 bags and moved to Saratoga Springs, NY. I felt like a country girl going to a big city since it had been 10 years without crossing the Texas line. No more of moms cooking, late night talks with my baby sister, and no more Dad to run to when I needed car help.

After living in Saratoga Springs, Ny we moved to Silverdale, WA. No friends or family. I was completely alone when Justin went out to sea...except for my little Chihuahua Sal. After we got out of the Navy we got on the fast track to Texas...this time with 2 dogs, more stuff, and a baby on the way. Once Tyler arrived our "5 year plan" was no more. I quite my job and thought "I can do this!". Little did I know...
So, I am now a coupon clipping, have my own garden, baking and cooking from scratch, stay at home mom! I love this unexpected life!